Sora’s release shot past the speed of even the hottest AI debuts, with more than a million app downloads faster than ChatGPT, and it’s yet another sign that generative video is on the verge of mass adoption. OpenAI’s Sora lead Bill Peebles says the app broke a seven-figure user figure in less than five days, even considering an invite-only onboarding flow and a launch that was southern North America–focused.
Sora’s breakneck debut by the numbers and download pace
Independent estimates from app intelligence firm Appfigures peg Sora at around 627,000 iOS installs in its first week, which is a hair more than ChatGPT’s approximately 606,000 iOS installs during the same stretch. Sora saw approximately 45,000 iOS installs in Canada alone, which means even using U.S.-only figures, Sora’s iOS start was close to ChatGPT’s rate.
The daily download velocity added to the momentum: Appfigures noted an initial spike of some 56,000 iOS installs on day one, a spike that pushed Sora into the top ranks of the U.S. App Store before it went on to claim the No. 1 overall spot. As high as almost 108,000 iOS installs in one day with regular days in the mid–80,000 to high–90,000 figures — solid numbers for an app most users still required an invitation to access fully.
Scarcity meets shareability: fueling Sora’s growth
Apps that are invite-only naturally experience some growing pains. Sora battled that drag with something rare in consumer AI: immediately shareable, visually stunning output. The latest Sora 2 video model generates clips that play great on social feeds, which has set off a self-reinforcing loop of curiosity, creation and reposting — the kind text-only tools almost never achieve.
That virality cuts the other way. Social feeds have been flooded with increasingly realistic deepfakes of public figures, living and dead, leading to pushback from their creators as well as the families of those being parodied. OpenAI has admitted moderation problems, and Peebles indicated that more features and fixes would come to minimize over- and undermoderation — crucial steps if growth is going to be sustained without a regulatory blowback.
Why Sora got ahead of ChatGPT at first, three factors
Three factors probably explain the faster ascent. First, consumers are far more aware of AI now than when ChatGPT’s app debuted, reducing the friction of trying a new model from an established brand. Second, video is a richer, more viral medium than text. A single compelling clip can yield millions of views and lead to thousands of app downloads overnight. Third, Sora’s limited availability in the U.S. and Canada focused attention and demand through scarcity-as-marketing.
It doesn’t hurt, either, that the wider creator economy is hungry for faster, cheaper visual production. The likes of filmmakers, marketers and influencers are using Sora for storyboards, product promos and concept testing — use cases that bring repeat usage and public examples; it increases discovery. That flywheel just wasn’t as much of a thing for ChatGPT in the olden days of mobile.
Competitive Context In Generative AI Apps
Appfigures’ rankings reveal how Sora’s debut compares favorably to other headline AI app launches like Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft’s Copilot, putting it in the same conversation as the splashy launch of xAI’s Grok. Though download estimates vary by firm, like Sensor Tower and data.ai, the common denominator is clear: Sora’s trajectory is top tier for any consumer AI product, let alone a closed, invite-only one.
The larger story here is category maturation. Early adopter interest once supported text-based chatbots; now, consumer expectations are for engaging multimodal experiences. The rapid ascent of Sora hints that the next arena will be generative video quality, safety, and tooling — areas where iteration speed and policy guardrails are just as important to success as model capability.
What to watch next for Sora’s growth and App Store rank
Retention and conversion are the main questions. Top rank as the No. 1 app is a show of demand; keeping users returning will hinge on quality output, editing controls, content policies and clear labeling to avoid misuse. If OpenAI can achieve a balance between creative latitude and safety, and can open up accessibility beyond North America, that install base could snowball.
For now, the scoreboard looks good for Sora: hit a million downloads more quickly than ChatGPT, race up the App Store charts and strike a rare blend of scarcity and shareability that consumer apps covet but rarely lock down. The next phase in the race to define AI-native video will demonstrate whether that early burst becomes a lasting lead.
